Is the Free Ride Over? | |
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There is no question that the dotcoms have been cutting back, but is it the beginning of the end for Internet freebies? There are definitely changes in the free landscape but where are they leading?
The biggest changes so far have been in free Internet access. The ranks are thinning. At one time there were over a dozen offerings with nationwide service. At the time of this writing there are only about six still offering free access.
The first to go were those services that offered free access and didn't place an extra ad window on your screen. FreeWWWeb, Worldspy and One Nation Online have ceased operations and Worldshare is now a pay service. Although these were very attractive services, It is really no surprise that they were the first to go. Since they didn't put an ad bar on your desktop they has less sources of revenue than the other free Internet access companies. Even the companies that use the extra ad window are not yet making a profit.
Most of the other free ISPs to leave the scene were the result of two companies discontinuing their services. 1stUp and Spinway provided the infrastructure for those services. Altavista and Lycos were two of the big names that decided to not try to continue their services. Bluelight and Excite are two of the major services that have found other partners and are continuing to offer free access. Check the related resources on this page for a list of free ISPs still offering free Internet access.
There has been some consolidation and casualties in other free services over the last year, but those have been pretty minor. Most of the free fax and phone services, free online file storage, free calendars, free email, etc. are still offering services. I'm sure we will see more of these disappear, but so far there is still a wide selection.
As far as free samples and promotional offers, they seem to be coming and going at about the same rate. Companies still want people to try their products and want to build traffic for their sites. I would expect these types of offers to remain fairly stable over the next year.
While some free services have consolidated or ceased operations, it looks like the year ahead will still provide useful and fun freebies for us to use and enjoy.
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